UNCLOS Powers to Regulate and Facilitate Shipping Assessment Answers

UNCLOS Powers to Regulate and Facilitate Shipping


The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is an international agreement that was developed in the third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III). This conference lasted from 1973 to 1982. UNCLOS is the law that provides a detailed definition of the rights and responsibilities of all the countries for using the oceans of the world. The law also presents guidelines with respect to the management of the Marine resources, the environment and commercial operations. After the conclusion of the convention in the year 1982, the treaties from the year 1958 were replaced and the UNCLOS came into force in the year 1994. Currently, 167 countries and the European Union are a member of this convention. UNCLOS has provided all the countries with their specific jurisdictional zones and it also includes the corresponding rights that they hold in the ocean spaces that are adjacent to their territory CITATION MFa12 l 1033 (ITLOS, 2015). The territorial jurisdiction according to the UNCLOS operates in concentric circles. The countries are provided complete territorial sovereignty in their internal waters and they hold almost no sovereign rights on the high seas. The maritime zones according to the UNCLOS who is measured from the Territorial Sea Baseline (TSB). TSB is defined as the low water line for the countries located along their coast.

Figure 1 Maritime zones according to UNCLOS
The UNCLOS proves to be an excellent and engaging starting point for analysing the regulatory system for private maritime security for the countries. At present this is the only relevant legal instrument which is pertinent and which has set out the backdrop for the management of the oceans. UNCLOS handset the foundation to bring about uniform governance buy balancing the rights and obligations of the countries. It is also supplemented by a few other protocols and conventions but the purpose of law of the sea is not just to set up a broad framework but to provide a security component tallest members so that they are able to effectively respond to any maritime threats CITATION RBi12 l 1033 (Ravin, 2005). The UNCLOS has split the marine areas into the following five zones
Internal Waters
Territorial Sea
Contiguous Zone
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
The High Seas
The internal waters are the rivers, inlets, ports and marine species that are landward of the baseline. These littoral areas are the ones where the states it can enforce their domestic regulations. The states can also make use of enforcement measures to set out static standards and look for violations within the maritime zone of the coastal state. However, it is important to know that no foreign vessels can be held to the non-maritime port state laws for the security laws of the state as long as the activities that are being conducted by these vessels are not what are becoming detrimental for the security of the local people or the peace of the state CITATION JMo01 l 1033 (IMO, 2014).
The territorial sea provides the coastal states with unlimited jurisdiction for all the activities unless the law imposes any restrictions on the same. The coastal States have complete rights over the territorial sea which extends to 12 nautical miles from the baseline of the state.
The contiguous zone can be defined as an intermediary zone that lies between the high seas and the territorial sea. The jurisdiction of a coastal state extends to a maximum of 24 nautical miles from their baseline so that they are able to punish for prevent any violation of the sanitary, fiscal, customs or immigration legislation defined by them.
EEZ is also an intermediary zone that lies between the territorial sea and the high seas which is extended up to 200 nautical miles. EEZ has the rights for taking action for the prevention of infringement by any third parties on their economic assets line in this area. These economic assets include wind farming, bio prospecting or fishing. The coastal states are allowed to take the necessary measures for safeguarding their rights to these economic assets which include inspection, boarding, arresting or even running judicial proceedings as they find necessary so that they comply with the International regulations and laws CITATION Bas17 l 1033 (UN, 2017).
The high seas are the water extending beyond 200 nautical miles from the shore of the state. The high seas are open and freely available for anyone and only power governing it is the one that provides equal rights to all the people. The UNCLOS has set out these regulations to ensure that the oceans are used for peaceful purposes only.
The UNCLOS Convention has been established for ensuring that peace and Justice is maintained throughout the world and the states do not at all interfere in a way that influences the justified and equal interests of the rest of the states. According to this convention, the following 6 spheres are the ones where all the states are provided the freedom of activity
Navigation
Laying cables and pipelines
Over flight
Marine scientific research
Fishing
Artificial Island and installation
The UNCLOS facilitates for unregistered shipping by taking care of all the rules and regulation related to the commercial activities in the oceans. The transport of passengers and cargo is governed by the regulations of this convention and it has also laid down the rules for commercial fishing activities. The UNCLOS provide the right of innocent Passage to the ships of all the states regardless of their geographical location. They can pass through the territorial sea without entering the internal waters according to Section 3 of the convention. Therefore, it can be concluded that the UNCLOS is an excellent framework that defines the legal powers and laws related to oo maritime activities. The jurisdictional rules have clearly divided the ocean into zones and find the legal powers for all the water management agencies. The UNCLOS speaks about the sovereign rights of the coastal states and defines the rules and regulations fostering an environment of understanding and cooperation among the nations for the settlement of all the issues related to law of the sea CITATION KBe15 l 1033 (Nations, 2015).

References
BIBLIOGRAPHY IMO. (2014). Implications of the United Nations convention on the law of sea for the international maritime organization. Retrieved from http//www.imo.org/en/OurWork/Legal/Documents/LEG20MISC208.pdf
ITLOS. (2015). 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in the Dispute Concerning the Enrica Lexie Incident. Retrieved from https//www.itlos.org/fileadmin/itlos/documents/cases/case_no.24_prov_meas/Request/Notification_of_the_Italian_Republic_r.pdf
Nations, U. (2015). Convention on the Law of the Sea. Retrieved from https//www.un.org/depts/los/convention_agreements/pamphlet_unclos_at_30.pdf
Ravin, M. (2005). Law of the sea maritime boundaries and dispute settlement mechanisms. Retrieved from https//www.un.org/depts/los/nippon/unnff_programme_home/fellows_pages/fellows_papers/mom_0506_cambodia.pdf
UN. (2017). United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Retrieved from https//www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/unclos_e.pdf
 

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